Phase I and II clinical trials for gastric cancer.

Gastric cancer remains a global public health problem with considerable heterogeneity in pathogenesis and clinical presentation across geographic regions. Improved understanding of the molecular biology of this disease has opened avenues for targeted intervention. An individualized treatment approach is required for optimal management of this cancer. Overcoming resistance to therapy requires combining targeted agents with the traditional options of chemotherapy/radiation therapy, and also targeting more than 1 pathway of carcinogenesis at a time. Encouraging molecular hypothesis and biomarker-driven trials will lead to improved patient outcomes and may eventually enable the therapeutic nihilism associated with gastric cancer to be overcome.
(Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)